Daniel Briere Out Tonight, Possibly All Week

The Flyers play tonight against the Dallas Stars at the Wachovia center at 7:00. Briere spoke about the progress of his injured groin.

"It's frustrating, because there's not much improvement," Briere said yesterday. "After the first two steps, it hits me. There's no power. I can't start and stop—and that's my game. I need to be quick, taking off and hitting holes, and right now I can't do that."

"Only my body will tell me when I'm ready to go," added Briere, who has five goals and four assists. "It's frustrating because I thought I'd be in the lineup last weekend. I want to play. I don't think I've ever had an injury as frustrating as this one, where it's taken this long."

It's hard to fathom how well the Flyers have played in Briere's absence. The Flyers have won four straight, and are 5-0-1 in their last six. Overall, the team is 8-2-1 without Briere, as opposed to 1-4-3 with him in the lineup this season.

Of course, I'm not saying we don't need him—it was just an amazing stat that surprised me.

Captain Mike Richards stated that everyone in the locker room has stepped up, and will continue to do so until Briere returns to the lineup. The Flyers obviously do not want to rush Danny into coming back, because of the significance of the injury. A groin is tough to figure out.

"We don't want to rush him back and have him reinjure himself, and be out even longer," coach John Stevens said. "We want him totally healthy, so there's no reservations about keeping him in the lineup."

Finallly, Coach Stevens said that defenseman Ossi Vaananen, who has been sidelined with a finger injury, might play tonight against the Stars.